Stack unloader for molded carrier ring components

Abstract

Molded carrier ring-type electrical components are unloaded from a shipping tube by providing the bottom of an escapement mechanism with a substantially flat surface to which the "coin stack" arrangement of components falls during loading of the stack into the escapement. This flat surface presents to the bottom component of the stack an area which is sufficient for preventing dumping of the stack through the escapement and for releveling components which become tilted during loading of the tube into the escapement. The flat surface is biased upwardly by springs and displaceable downwardly against such biasing by a component transfer slide during lateral displacement of the transfer slide to the stack in order to acquire and remove the bottom component from the stack. The slide is particularly configured so that it does not substantially protrude beyond any more than one side of the stack during use, thus providing an unloading main frame that can accommodate an increased density of the stacks for unloading thereof.

Now that the invention has been described, we claim: 
     
       1. An escapement mechanism for removing generally flat electrical components one at a time from the bottom of a stack of the components, said components being supplied to said escapement mechanism from a tube, with a longitudinal axis of said tube being oriented generally vertically so as to provide for gravity feed of said components, along a feed path which is generally parallel to said longitudinal axis, and comprising: stop means for engaging a bottom component of said stack and halting said gravity feed while blocking removal of said components from said mechanism, said stop means having a component engaging portion sufficient to define a plane and to ensure flat seating of a bottom planar surface of said bottom component therewith even when said bottom component initially engages said stop means with said bottom planar surface unparallel to said plane;   means for biasing said stop means upwardly against said bottom component of said stack;   transfer means for moving laterally in and out of said feed path, acquiring said bottom component from said stack, and transferring said bottom component laterally from said stack, said transfer means having upper and lower surfaces; and   means for depressing said stop means against a force of said biasing means in order for a portion of said upper and lower surfaces of said transfer means to enter generally between said stop means and said bottom component for said acquiring of said bottom component.   
     
     
       2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said transfer means comprises: a plate having an aperture into which said bottom component is receivable for said acquiring and transferring   
     
     
       3. An apparatus as in claim 2, and further comprising: main frame means for supporting at least two of said escapement mechanisms, said main frame means having a generally flat surface along which said plate of each said transfer means is slideable and in which there is an opening means for receiving a component from each transfer means of two oppositely disposed escapement mechanisms.   
     
     
       4. An apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said transfer means does not extend laterally of said longitudinal axis substantially beyond more than one side of said escapement mechanism, even during use, so as to maximize a density of population of said escapement mechanisms on said main frame means. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said biasing means comprises: at least one compression spring situated such that said stop means is tiltable during said acquiring and transferring.   
     
     
       6. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said depressing means comprises: a tapered front edge of said transfer means and a tapered edge of said stop means slidingly engaged by said tapered front edge during movement of said transfer means into position between said stop means and said bottom component.   
     
     
       7. An apparatus as in claim 6, and further comprising: means for tilting said stop means during entering of said transfer means between said stop means and said bottom component; and   means for limiting tilting of said bottom component during said tilting of said stop means.   
     
     
       8. An apparatus as in claim 7, wherein said means for limiting tilting comprises: a channel in said component engaging portion of said stop means and a lead-in finger of said transfer means, said lead-in finger being slidingly engageable in and along said channel so as to support progressively more of said bottom component and to limit tilting of said component during tilting of said stop means by said transfer means.